Category: Jamaica

Spanning the globe in search of authentic expressions of rum, Alexandre Gabriel’s Plantation Rum brand celebrates the diversity of rum and brings a unique perspective to the marketing of sugar cane spirits.

Plantation’s myriad rum offerings celebrate the incredible range and richness of rum in both culture and taste, from points of origin to fermentation, distillation and barreling techniques.

Having spent countless days in the Caribbean in search of the best rums, Alexandre Gabriel’s dedication to understanding rum’s diversity is without equal. This decades-long obsession has effectively provided the enthusiastic consumer and rum collector with a global rum education on a silver platter.

Plantation Rum will present a seminar entitled “Exploring the Diversity of Rum,” at Miami Rum Festival on Friday, May 17 at 7pm. This seminar, lead by Rocky Yeh, will guide participants on a journey across rum’s broad landscape to explore that magnificent multiplicity of variety within the rum category.

The Miami Rum Festival takes place at the historic Coral Gables Woman’s Club on Friday, May 17 from 4 to 8pm, and on Saturday, May 18th from 4 to 10pm. VIP admission begins at 2pm each day.

The festival features rum producers from near and far exhibiting their products, along with seminars and master classes, cocktail demonstrations and a blind tasting competition by international judges.

The Plantation Rum brand will be highlighting some of their most outstanding expressions with tasting samples that explore the diversity of rum across many regions, including Xaymaca from Jamaica; Fiji Grand Terroir 2009; Jamaica Grand Terroir 2005; Barbados Grand Terroir 2005; Old Fashioned Traditional Dark Overproof; Original Dark Double Aged; 20th Anniversary XO from Barbados, 3 Stars White from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad; Barbados Five Years; and Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple rum.

The Diversity of Rum seminar takes the participants on a journey across rum’s broad landscape to explore that magnificent variety within the rum category.

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Presenting an iconic flavor profile of legendary Jamaican pot stills, Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry Rum invokes local history and ancestral culture of the island – the Arawak’s land of wood and water.

The classic double-thumper pot stills of Jamaica, in concert with traditional long fermentation cycles, can produce high ester rums — with aromas and flavors of black banana and flambéed pineapple — often described as funky.

In particular, aged rums from the venerable John Dore pot still at Long Pond and the Vendôme pot still at Clarendon are among the most desirable and — until recently — the least available on the market.

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry pot still blended rum from Jamaica

Lighter ester rums are blended with a dose of heavier rums from extended fermentations. The persistence of bold flavors remains notable in Xaymaca’s wide range blend, without being overpowering or intense.

Xaymaca Special Dry delivers just that — a well balanced blend of aged distillates from these legacy pot stills.

After resting in Bourbon barrels in Jamaica, the rum is rested for a second maturation of one year in Cognac barrels in Southwest France.

Xaymaca Special Dry Tasting Notes

Initial aromas of ripe banana, vanilla and smokey oak lead to hints of pineapple, brandy and fine herbs. On the palate, mixed ripe fruit and orange water precede the baked banana notes at mid-palate, with sour dough bread pudding, baking spices and almond butter fading into the medium warm finish.

Xaymaca Mission Statement

Alexandre Gabriel, founder of Maison Ferrand, said: “With Xaymaca Special Dry, I wanted to dive into the iconic culture that is unique to Jamaican rum. I wanted to work with these complex flavours of overripe exotic fruits with an almost animal intensity.”

“We can still find certain white rums with this famous ‘rum funk.’ I think, however, that this great terroir expresses itself perfectly in an aged rum. That is why we launched Xaymaca Special Dry – a tribute to this ancestral culture of rum.”

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From a no-nonsense rum producer, the Mezan XO Jamaica blend is a delightful and approachable expression that faithfully reflects the characteristics of the island’s venerable boutique distilleries.

Each release is a blend of casks from various stills in Jamaica, artfully combined for complexity and balance in small batches of 5000 bottles. The blend contains a base of light and medium ester rums that may have originated at the legacy distilleries of Clarendon, Worthy Park, Long Pond and Hampden Estate, further aged together in oak casks to marry the components, without any additives, coloring or chill filtering.

Mezan XO Jamaica Tasting Notes

The pale straw color is your first clue that the rum remains unadulterated. Aromas of funky banana, juicy fruit, and old wood lead to a suggestion of baking spice, earthy musk and burnt sugar. On the palate, green banana and bitter almond precede cigar box over spiced cake before the funky notes of mixed ripe fruit decay in the medium long finish.

Mezan Extra Old Jamaica blended aged rum delivers an affordable and accessible boutique rum experience. Taste it neat to step back in time and experience old Jamaica, or use it in cocktails like the Mai Tai and Jamaican Mule to bring that distinctly pungent and funky cool island vibe to mixed drinks.

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Known for their clever approach to marketing, Stolen Spirits announces the release of their Stolen Overproof Rum across the United States in key markets.

Discovering Stolen Overproof Rum

Stolen discovered this rum at a historic, family-run distillery in Jamaica that’s over 250 years old.

Stolen Spirits’ Overproof rum from Jamaica is produced in a traditional pot still from a legacy distillery.

In their time-honored Jamaican style, the mash ferments for seven days in a selection of 50 different cedar vats, developing a bold, rich and complex flavor profile. Traditional copper pots are used to distill the rum in a rustic manner, before a six year maturation in used whiskey barrels.

Stolen Overproof Rum is bottled at 123 proof (61.5% abv) and presented in half-size 375ml bottles with a suggested list price of about $20.

Tasting Notes

Stolen Overproof Rum offers aromas of bold charred oak and pepper over ripe banana, leading to funky juicy fruit. On the palate, a bold entry of butter, vanilla and oak develops a bouquet of fruit in the dry mid-palate with hints of tart citrus, soft pear, black banana and a touch of treacle in the long finish.

A Handcrafted Rum

“We consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate to have discovered this remarkable product. It’s rare to find a handcrafted rum of this proof and quality that’s been aged for six years,” said Samira Seiller, Global Managing Director of Stolen Spirits.

Stolen Overproof Rum is a limited release, with only 60,000 of the half-size 375ml bottles available.

About Stolen Spirits

The brand began in 2010 when two rum fanatics gave up the corporate grind to pursue their passion in Auckland, New Zealand. Stolen Spirits products are currently available in Australia, New Zealand, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and Tennessee, with more states coming online soon.

Long Pond is known for their long, slow fermentation cycles, allowing natural yeast to convert sugar to alcohol over a long period in the traditional manner. The addition of dunder from previous fermentations is an old technique long lost at modern distilleries.

This slow fermentation process builds rich and complex high ester flavor profiles, which are refined by a double distillation process in their traditional double retort pot still.

The result of this uniquely rich fermentation and rustic distillation is big rum flavor — Mezan Jamaica 2000 offers a reflection of style that made Jamaican rums famous the world over for centuries.

Aromas of sweet butter and charred oak, then big banana lead to subtle chardonnay with a hint of green apple before traces of pineapple, then a vegetal bouquet of fruit and dank earthiness over bread dough. On the palate, Mezan Jamaica 2000 presents a smooth entry of rich buttery toffee gives way to a very interesting briny, earthy leather and complex fruit notes tempered by a woody finish.

Signature Blend

While the rums themselves remain unchanged, the packages reflect a more accurate description of the rums by name and presentation, starting with the Appleton Estate Signature Blend. This popular expression is a blend of 15 select pot still and column still rums that sets the standard for the Appleton Estate Rum series. Perfectly balanced complex citrus, fruity and sweet notes, the rum suggests subtle orange peel on the palate, with dried apricot, fresh peach and a hint of molasses and woody notes.

Reserve Blend

Next in line, the Appleton Estate Reserve Blend is a marvelous combination of 20 high quality marques skillfully integrated with complexity, depth and balance for those that prefer a premium blend. Full-bodied, smooth, and delicately-balanced spice and nutty notes on the palate are followed by oaky honey, subtle vanilla and a hint of hazelnut all wrapped in rich, dried orange peel. It is reminiscent of a spicy fruit cake.

Rare Blend 12 Year Old

As the name suggests, Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old is an upscale expression — containing rare sipping rums at least 12 years old aged in Number One Select American oak barrels — that defines the authentic Jamaican style known around the globe. With a constantly evolving taste experience — you’ll find deep oak, fruity and cocoa notes, followed by delicate molasses, vibrant orange peel, and subtle coffee, with a hint toasted oak and almond. The Rare Blend 12 Year Old at 43% ABV exemplifies the life work and accomplishments of Appleton Estate’s Master Blender Joy Spence.

Master Blender Joy Spence

The first female to be appointed Master Blender in the industry, Joy notes: “We wanted the new packaging to capture the craftsmanship and exceptional quality of our range and celebrate the uniqueness of the Appleton Estate including our heritage, our land, our process and our people.

“Although the names and packaging for our three core variants have changed, the award winning liquid inside the bottle remains the same. In addition, we have not changed the names, packaging or liquid for our luxury brands, Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum or Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum.”

The new packages have been refined to express the key elements that distinguish the brand. The cap now includes the signature of Master Blender Joy Spence to reinforce Appleton Estate’s crafted approach to producing rum. Estate Distilled and Jamaica Rum, are repeated at the base of the closure to highlight the brand’s Estate and Jamaican provenance. The name of the variants have been moved from the cartouche to the main label and Appleton Estate’s rich heritage as a rum producing establishment since 1749 is now highlighted on the cartouche. The new label features the lush landscape of the Appleton Estate and Jamaica’s world famous Cockpit Country where the Estate is located.

Crafted in the heart of Jamaica

The Appleton Estate logo has been updated. The words “Crafted in the heart of Jamaica” have been placed under the logo to speak to the care and passion that goes into making Appleton Estate rum, as well as the geographical location of the Appleton Estate in the heart of Jamaica.

The historic medals, which date back to the 1800s, are featured on the bottom left of the label. The Appleton Estate heart icon appears as a watermark on the bottom right of the label.

The Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum range is Jamaica’s leading premium rum and is exported to over 60 countries around the world.

This Limited Edition Connoisseur’s Cut expression from Banks Rum features an intriguing blend of fine aged rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Nicaragua.

These well chosen continuous and pot still aged rums were distilled in 2001 and 2012, then blended in 2007 before returning to oak casks for further aging.

The aroma begins with funky ripe banana over earthy toasted wood. A bouquet of rich dried fruit featuring apricot and citrus rinds leads to cashew and cigar box before resonating with gunpowder, oak and and bright pepper. On the palate, a big bold mouth feel presents initial sweet funky fruit on charred wood, then a delicious bananas foster over cedar plank that continues to evolve through the complex mid palate with notes of green banana and spices. The finish is long, woody and warm.

Founded by master blender Arnaud de Trabuc and R. John Pellaton, the Banks Rum brand is named for the 18th-century explorer Sir Joseph Banks, a noted English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook’s first great voyage (1768–1771) visiting Brazil, Tahiti and Australia. Approximately 80 species of plants bear the Banks name.

The Banks Rum brand distinguishes itself by creating unique blends of rum from around the world featuring complex and intriguing hybrid mixtures of spirits of many varieties. The unique skill of the master blender is in matching the qualities of various expressions in combinations that will pique the interest of seasoned rum enthusiasts.

Among the most popular Banks Rum products are the Banks 5 Island white rum and the Banks 7 Island gold rum. The Endeavour Limited Edition I is a release of only 1743 bottles featuring a sophisticated blend of two fine old rums individually selected from exclusive Banks reserves with a minimum of 16 years in the cask. Banks Connoisseur’s Cut Limited Edition rums are blends of specific styles of spirit from well known rum territories culled from the finest stocks in the Caribbean, then carefully blended to perfection in small quantities.

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Ahoy the Duppy Share aged rum. The Westbourne Drinks Company of London has launched a premium expression of blended aged rums from Jamaica and Barbados — The Duppies Share — inspired by the legend of island duppies, the unseen gregarious forces of the Caribbean that conspire to steal a share of fine rum resting in barrels via evaporation.

The Duppy Share features a delightful blend of aged rum from Jamaica and Barbados, imported into the UK by Westbourne Drinks Company.

In whiskey, the loss of spirit to evaporation is known as the angel’s share. Duppies, on the other hand are said to be nefarious and egregious spirits that cause trouble.

The Duppy Share is distilled in the Caribbean by fourth generation rum masters before being shipped to London for bottling. The blend features bold, tropical fruit flavors from a fine three year old Jamaican rum balanced by smooth, oaky notes of an exceptional five year old Bajan rum, matured in American oak bourbon barrels to impart a golden hue and add subtle oaky, caramel flavors.

Designed as a premium rum to be sipped straight or enjoyed on the rocks, this spirit also works well in cocktails that are complimented by a rich, full bodied aged rum with bold notes of tropical fruit, baking spices and buttery caramel.

The producers suggest The Duppy Share is a great rum for creating tropical punch recipes to be enjoyed at social gatherings and rooftop parties during the summer months.

A well designed bottle complements the fine taste of The Duppy Share blend, with an evocative label design inspired by 1930s travel posters.

The Westbourne Drinks Company is a new business founded in London by Rum Adventurer George Frost and start-up guru Jessica Swinfen. Before launching The Duppy Share, Jessica was at Innocent Drinks for almost 10 years. One of the early members of the core team, she helped grow the company into the international brand it is today.

George flirted with the idea of starting a rum distillery in London. Fleetingly. That was before visiting the Caribbean distilleries. That was before meeting the custodians of real rum — the master producers whose skills have been handed down through family-owned businesses for generations. That was before realizing that it’s the American oak barrels in the Caribbean climate that are key to aging fine rum.

At 40% abv, The Duppy Share launched exclusively into Selfridges in 70cl bottles for £37.99.